The battle over the mass cutting of trees in Potawatomi State Park is headed to court.

The recently formed conservation group Potawatomi Advocates for Trees, Conservation and Heritage filed a lawsuit Friday against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and DNR Secretary Karen Hyun in an effort to stop future work inside the state park.

Hundreds of trees were cut during the winter as part of a road construction project that widened roads by up to 10 feet to accommodate new bike lanes.

PATCH alleges the DNR caused environmental harm to the park by destroying portions of the forest canopy and damaging wildlife habitat. PATCH Executive Director Dave Allen said the DNR did not hold a public hearing on the project, nor did it receive approval from the Natural Resources Board, as other projects have in the past.

Allen said the project violates the park's 2018 Master Plan, which states that any road project should be completed at its current development level. He argues that the work completed this spring exceeded those guidelines. While the organization cannot reverse what has already been done, Allen hopes the lawsuit can protect other parts of the park from a similar fate.

The project also drew criticism from State Rep. Joel Kitchens and State Sen. Andre Jacque earlier this month, with both lawmakers calling for a public hearing on the project.

"After re-reading the plan online, it is extremely vague on specific plans for the road widening," Kitchens said. "While they may have technically met the legal requirement regarding notice and gathering public input, they did not come close to meeting the public's expectations for transparency."

Allen added that PATCH will host a gathering in the coming weeks to build additional support.

Photos courtesy of PATCH